California · Orchard fruit
Typically early May to mid-September, with peak mid-May through mid-August.
Hatched chalk = early and late shoulders; solid = peak.
San Joaquin Valley shippers run May into fall; farm stands carry dozens of varieties in turn.
From early May — first pickings, lighter supply, best prices come later.
mid-May through mid-August — full stalls, full flavor. This is the stretch to plan around.
Through mid-September — quantity for preserving, and the stalls start dealing.
about 19 weeks end to end, shoulders included.
Taste one first — varieties swing from candy-sweet to tart-skinned — and pick into shallow buckets. The picking window tracks the band above: early trips get clean fields, peak (mid-May through mid-August) is the sure bet, late season is for quantity.
Farm-to-farm variation is real — up to two weeks either side of the typical window. Plan the trip, then call the farm before you drive.
Plum peak moves across the map. After this window, it lands next in:
The whole national sweep · everything in season in California
In California, the plum season typically runs early May to mid-September, with peak availability mid-May through mid-August. Exact weeks shift a little with each year's weather.
Aim for peak: mid-May through mid-August. An early trip around early May gets first choice of clean fields; a late one is for jam-and-freezer quantity. Any single farm can run up to two weeks either side of the chart — call before you drive.
about 19 weeks end to end — early May to mid-September. The early and late shoulders are real but lighter; the solid stretch of chalk on the band is the sure bet.